Later in the year, Russell wrote several stories about Benjamin Sisko, an African-American commander of a space station called Deep Space 9. Russell faced opposition from Pabst and the owner of the magazine due to the race of the main character. Although Russell later modified the story to make it about an African-American dreaming about being a space station commander, the owner of the magazine Mr. Stone refused to publish it and had the entire issue destroyed. Devastated with the development, Russell suffered a breakdown and was committed to Riverdale Asylum. (DS9episodes: "Far Beyond the Stars", "Shadows and Symbols")